Teaching And The Mets

As many of you may know, I am a baseball fan. I have been a Met fan for many years.

When I was younger, I got into the routine of bringing the paper in early in the morning during baseball season to look at the box score. I learned a lot about baseball and about abbreviations and box scores but I also was developing good habits, like looking at the paper in the morning—something I still do.

My parents also used the opportunity to teach me Good Sportsmanship, hard work, the value of a dollar (buying tickets) and the things in life that are enjoyable (like routing for a team) versus the things that are important (like decisions that effect family and friends).

One other thing you can learn from baseball, or really any sport, is the importance of trying your best and not giving up. Yesterday, I was watching the Mets play the Philadelphia Phillies for First Place. The Mets had a three run lead going to the top of the ninth inning. All they needed to do was get three outs before the Phillies scored three runs. In case you are not a baseball fan, that really is not too difficult.

Unfortunately for the Mets, the Phils never gave up yesterday. They kept clawing and fighting there way back into the game and scored six runs in the ninth inning to give them a 8-5 lead. They went on to win the game 8-6.

The teacher in me thinks this is a wonderful lesson. It can and should show students how things are never over until they are over. A student who thinks s/he has a definite “A” in the class needs to keep focus. A student who thinks s/he is not doing well needs to remember how the Phillies kept clawing away until they got what they wanted. It is a good lesson for students.

The baseball fan in me, the Met fan in me, well that is a different story. Baseball is called a game of redeeming qualities. Hopefully, the Mets will be able to redeem themselves tonight!